Playbook competitors

Regardless of size or available apps for me the big plus is Bridge. No one else offers the ability to bridge their tablets with their phone, this ability is just the best, I'm always connected because of bridge, really how awesome is that and what's it worth. I figure in one year bridge vs tethering will save me the price of the PB, my playbook works out to be free plus it's a wonderful tablet ... competition, I think not we're talking apples and berries here not the same game.

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There is no reasonable person who would pay even more than $300 for a Playbook no matter what "specs" it has to offer when a similar 7 inch tablet is selling for $199/$249.
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That's not completely true imo. A gamer? Yes. A fart-app user? Yes. A book and music fanatic? Yes, but users that have use for the bridge funtionality and use it for business or more productive things are more likely willing to pay more for usefull functionality.

I think a serious buyer will compare usefull functionality first and second look at the price.

I owe an iPad2 too, which i like very much for various resons, but put a knife to my throath and I will leave it go and stick with my PB.

Everyone has good points here. But I really don't think RIM's main competition problem will be from Amazon or b&n. Where they will face the real challenge is from the MANY Android tablets flooding the market... I'm talking about guys like Acer who already I saw a 7" tablet at costco which was VERY close to playbook specs... Selling for 299... Android... Had a good camera, micro SD slot... Sleek hardware design, and ships with all the apps us playbook dreamers wish we had... The only thing it didn't have was BBM.... And oh wait... Neither does the playbook!! Lol

With the announcement of B&N's tablet, the Playbook will be up against even more competition since Amazon's Fire was announced. I just don't get it, how can a bookseller like B&N release a tablet with Netflix yet RIM, can't seem to get some of these basic apps preinstalled on theirs. Granted it is running a different OS and all, but with a premium price of $500, you would need to satisfy the multimedia folks to prevent the PB to be pigeon holed as only a business tool.

If the PB had the Kindle app, Skype w/ video, and Netflix/Hulu...I guarantee sales will go up!

Sorry, but there's no way the pb can be pigeonholed as only a business tool as it seems to lack a good complement of business apps. It is neither fish nor fowl (maybe foul).

Regardless of size or available apps for me the big plus is Bridge. No one else offers the ability to bridge their tablets with their phone.

Why would the other tablets need to bridge?
They all have native e-mail/calendar and contacts built in. An Android tab user or the iPad user wouldn't have to carry their phone around just to keep a bridge connection. Most tabs offer both 3G and WiFi, so no issue there.

Everyone has good points here. But I really don't think RIM's main competition problem will be from Amazon or b&n. Where they will face the real challenge is from the MANY Android tablets flooding the market... I'm talking about guys like Acer who already I saw a 7" tablet at costco which was VERY close to playbook specs... Selling for 299... Android... Had a good camera, micro SD slot... Sleek hardware design, and ships with all the apps us playbook dreamers wish we had... The only thing it didn't have was BBM.... And oh wait... Neither does the playbook!! Lol

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

The reality is RIM's main competition is themselves.

They've allowed this device to languish since it's release. I still have very faint hope that the (possible) release of OS2 can put the Playbook on the radar as a credible option. It is currently not viewed as a business tool, it's not viewed as a consumer device, it's viewed as a curiosity and a failure.

Even though I am mostly pleased with mine (bought it day 1) it really doesn't matter. Every Playbook owner in town could be satisfied, but until there are more Playbook owners we won't see the popular apps developed for us. This is where getting into bed with Android can at least give us some help.

Bridge is a nice feature but at times I do wish the PB had native mail and calendar apps. I still prefer to type out emails on my BB though as I actually dread the keyboard on the PB especially when using it in non-bridged apps.

I've been thinking of getting a fast Android phone and tethering to my PB. I can't seem to get Amazon prime videos to stream through my 3G 9700 although I've heard that the bluetooth connection is the bottleneck and not the mobile speeds.

yeah since 7" tablets are going to be flooded in the market near future, BB needs to wake up. I think this is the critical moment for BB. This is the latest time for "still in the game." If BB yet again sit around and do nothing to make a next move, then that will be the time I will say "BB is again too late to decide what to do.."

QNX 1.0.x is still a good OS, BB just needs to utilize more of their devices.

yeah since 7" tablets are going to be flooded in the market near future, BB needs to wake up. I think this is the critical moment for BB. This is the latest time for "still in the game." If BB yet again sit around and do nothing to make a next move, then that will be the time I will say "BB is again too late to decide what to do.."

QNX 1.0.x is still a good OS, BB just needs to utilize more of their devices.

The window in reality already passed. Fire is launching soon (which will eat up the entire chunk of the low end market that could have been 16gb PB owners). None of the features necessary are launching until at least Feb, after the holiday season, which kicks the door wide open for every other platform other than QNX.

With the deals that will be available during the holiday for even the more-expensive android tablets, there isn't going to be much of a window for the PB until after the holiday is over. Say they get everything ready by Feb (which is questionable based on history). They will have to ramp up sales on an undefined platform after everyone spent their money over the holidays already. Good luck with that...

They should have released incremental features and fixes without OS2 long before Feb. But they didn't, and they will pay heavily in the tablet space long term.

Why would the other tablets need to bridge?
They all have native e-mail/calendar and contacts built in. An Android tab user or the iPad user wouldn't have to carry their phone around just to keep a bridge connection. Most tabs offer both 3G and WiFi, so no issue there.

This is true for the most part; however the original question compared the nook and kindle fire to the pb and in the case of the nook and kindle fire they are wifi only. If there is no available wifi the pb can be bridged therefore still useable, no lag or downtime.

This is true for the most part; however the original question compared the nook and kindle fire to the pb and in the case of the nook and kindle fire they are wifi only. If there is no available wifi the pb can be bridged therefore still useable, no lag or downtime.

you could also use your phone and create a wifi hotspot for the kindle or nook. Not every phone can but most newer ones have this option.

what is frustrating, the slow space RIMM is moving
and poor communcation from the company

I have a 15,000 plus contact data base in Outlook and need it when going on the road
it does not fit on my BB 9780, so I can not sinc the entire contacts
so much for the professional tablet

There is not one program for the PB where I transfer my contacts to and have it with me
I use Files and Folders App for my files, which are in my dropbox
but I need my contacts on the raod
Or does anyone have a solution? any help is appreciated

The window in reality already passed. Fire is launching soon (which will eat up the entire chunk of the low end market that could have been 16gb PB owners). None of the features necessary are launching until at least Feb, after the holiday season, which kicks the door wide open for every other platform other than QNX.

With the deals that will be available during the holiday for even the more-expensive android tablets, there isn't going to be much of a window for the PB until after the holiday is over. Say they get everything ready by Feb (which is questionable based on history). They will have to ramp up sales on an undefined platform after everyone spent their money over the holidays already. Good luck with that...

Yeah, RIM really dropped the ball by not getting OS2 and the Playbook ready in time for the holiday season. You have to wonder who in RIM is setting the timelines. Who is going to seriously consider the Playbook in February with a wave of new tablets with impressive specs coming on the scene next year?

How is the Playbook a business tool? What functionality does it bring to the workday that other tabets do not? I had one, and it didn't even last much past lunch. Also, reviewing documents, annotating PDFs (You know, business activites) were hopeless on that tiny screen. Heck, there are Android phones almost as big!

metal body
super ips 1280x800 screen with 600 nits - this should be pretty bad-a$$
quad core tegra 3 (actually there are five cores) - don't know if the additional cores are any useful though. maybe in games?
18 hours of battery life with the dock and 12 hours without - charger? what's a charger?
auto focusing f/2.4 8mp cmos camera with full hd video capture - still don't care
sd slot and usb port with the dock - should i buy that $24 32 gb sd card on slickdeals?
real typing experience with the dock - well, kinda defeats the purpose of a tablet vs netbook but still great to have this option
$499 for 32gb at start - i'd say very competitively priced for a first quad core

sounds impresive. put qnx 2.0 (final) in it or better win 8, and it will be ******

I think $299 is what the price should have been from the getgo for the Playbook... maybe even $349 (no real logic to this number - just thinking what is reasonable for someone like me). It was probably a mistake pricing it so closely to the iPad.

And with these new tablets coming out with no camera... maybe they are taking a page from Apple's strategy. The iPad 1 with no camera... kinda forces people to buy the iPad 2 if they really wanted video capabilities.

Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Samsung Electronics Co. plans to start selling touch-screen computers using the latest Windows operating system from the second half of next year as it seeks to tap demand for portable, yet powerful devices.

The product will probably be a modified version of the Series 7 computer, which has a touch screen and a wireless keyboard, Uhm Kyu **, head of sales and marketing at Samsung's personal-computer business, said in an interview in Seoul today. It will run Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 8, he said.

Microsoft on Sept. 13 unveiled the newest version of its Windows operating system with a device made by Samsung. The program, which allows ultra-thin laptops and tablets to turn on instantly and run all day on a single charge, is an attempt to vault Microsoft into a fast-growing market controlled by Apple and Google Inc.'s Android software.

This is indeed surprising that these book sellers have no problem getting these apps up yet playbook lags - is it RIM or is it netflix/hulu/skype? The blame has been place on the latter, but could RIM be playing a hand in it?

Originally Posted by howarmat

you could also use your phone and create a wifi hotspot for the kindle or nook. Not every phone can but most newer ones have this option.